


It's Okay

by Galactic_Yakult



Category: EXO (Band), IU (Musician)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:47:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24076219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galactic_Yakult/pseuds/Galactic_Yakult
Summary: “Since my trainee days I’ve never heard a song that made me cry, but this song really comforted me and allowed me to cry and fall asleep. So, tonight I recommend the song “That’s Okay” from D.O.”At that, Kyungsoo’s thoughts stopped entirely. He doesn’t know which surprises him more; that Jieun, someone that’s just an acquaintance, is giving such high praise and recommendation of his song; or, that when “That’s Okay” starts playing in the radio, it sounds much more comforting than he ever heard it before.
Relationships: Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Lee Jieun | IU
Comments: 5
Kudos: 20





	It's Okay

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cosmicmilktea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmicmilktea/gifts), [Cosmicmacchiato](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cosmicmacchiato/gifts).



On his days off the military, Kyungsoo often finds himself unable to sleep. He’s so used to the tiring schedule of physical exercises and cooking in large batches for his camp, that days of mostly staying at home and catching up with family and friends aren’t tiring enough to make his body fall asleep. Tonight is one of those sleepless nights, and he opts to turn on the radio for some background noise that can hopefully be a lullaby. He picks a random station, not really interested in the shows themselves, he just needs the noise.

“The song is like a lullaby for me,” Kyungsoo finally catches the words from the radio after being lost in his wandering thoughts for a while.

_is that jieun’s voice?_

“Since my trainee days I’ve never heard a song that made me cry, but this song really comforted me and allowed me to cry and fall asleep. So, tonight I recommend the song “That’s Okay” from D.O.”

At that, Kyungsoo’s thoughts stopped entirely. He doesn’t know which surprises him more; that Jieun, someone that’s just an acquaintance, is giving such high praise and recommendation of his song; or, that when “That’s Okay” starts playing in the radio, it sounds much more comforting than he ever heard it before.

He decides to not put much thought to it, and as “That’s Okay” continues playing, he also decides that it’s okay to not worry too much - about EXO, about Jongdae and his new family, what will happen after he returns from the military - and enjoy a good night’s rest.

***

He landed a drama main role right after he got out of the military. He’s not too surprised that he’s being paired up with Jieun. Her constant recommendations in various radio shows to listen to “That’s Okay” made everyone practically begged for their collaboration, and both of their agencies didn’t just arrange a song to sing together, but a song as an OST of a space opera where they’re also the leads. 

They were a bit awkward through the initial script readings and shooting days, but in the actual shoots themselves, their chemistry and acting flowed so naturally that they often finished days early for not needing retakes. He thinks it’s because he and Jieun have collected so many lead acting experiences at this point of their careers. This led to the crew absolutely loving him and Jieun because they can go home early. 

He and Jieun didn’t talk much, but they did exchange smiles, a lot. This started when one day some of the makeup artists really craved some hot soup because it’s so cold in the ski resort they’re shooting in, so the next day Jieun arranged a friend’s food truck to come and cook her favorite heartwarming soups and drinks for everyone. After a long take, she and Kyungsoo decided to grab cups of tea there, and as they sat on the sidewalk next to the truck, Kyungsoo looked at her intently from behind her paper cup and made a warm smile. She took a big gulp from her cup, also to cover up her face that’s blushing a little bit. She thinks it’s because of how hot the tea is amidst the cold they are in.

She decides to give Kyungsoo the same look and smile when he arranges a ramyeon food truck to come the next week. This time Kyungsoo hides his face behind the plastic bowl he’s slurping from.

***

The next set they’re shooting in is basically a desert. It’s a blazing hot afternoon, a long day with many scenes to take, yet Kyungsoo thinks that many of the actors are being unreasonable. The senior actors are complaining a lot and asking for longer and longer breaks between retakes. BTS is making a cameo as a mercenary group on this desert planet, but they’re spending a lot of time goofing around in the sand, slightly delaying the shoot. He knows that the crew is really tired by now and he fidgets a lot wanting to reprimand the other actors, but his manners are keeping him from doing so. He’s used to reprimanding the EXO members, but he feels it’s too much of a bother to do so to people he doesn’t know too well.

Lost in his thoughts while waiting for his delayed take to begin, he didn’t realize that Jieun had already stood up, and when he realized,, she was already shouting at everyone to get their act together. She reminded everyone that the crew is twice as tired as them because they constantly have to be on standby holding heavy shooting rigs, and after an awkward silence, the next takes wrapped up quickly. As Jieun sat back, fuming, Kyungsoo tapped her shoulder, handing her a bottle of water while giving a sheepish ‘thanks,’ failing to hide the awestruck expression on his face. She quickly took the water with a quick “don’t sweat it”, and gulped furiously. She attributes her growing blush to being leftovers of her outburst and the heat around her.

***

After the desert, everyone got a break before shooting the final episodes in Seoul. After spending days lazing around her apartment, Jieun thinks it’s been a long time since she last cooked for many people, and decides to cook something for the cast and crew when shooting resumes the next day. After contemplating for quite a while, she texts Kyungsoo, knowing he likes to cook and can give her recommendations.

She sees Kyungsoo typing a reply then stopping, then typing again and stopping. She thinks it’s because he’s writing a list of recommendations but thinks otherwise when she sees the reply:

“That’s really cool! I also thought of cooking something for everyone today, how about we cook something together instead, at your place maybe so you don’t have to hassle going to mine?”

She thinks of the possible scandals from dispatch getting a scoop of Kyungsoo going to her apartment, but deep down she knows that’s not really what’s bothering her. She feels that cooking with Kyungsoo and spending time just with him for an entire day, would be too perfect.

She lies that her parents are coming, and suggests that she cooks something sweet and he cooks something savory.

***

They’re shooting a date scene today, going around Seoul in a typical calm before storm episode. They go to an amusement park, and Kyungsoo wins her a penguin plushie from an actual carnival game between the takes. She immediately thinks of where she will put it in her apartment. She laughs when he lets go of his fake excited grin when the camera cuts and returns to his flat expression while riding the roller coaster. Her heart races when his hand still lingers around hers for a bit when the camera cuts while they’re walking hand in hand.

On the van trip to the next location, she steals a glance at Kyungsoo’s sleeping head, and silently thanked the Gods for giving them a perfect first date without having to go through the awkwardness of him asking her out or her asking him out. As the van comes to a halt though, she immediately chuckles bitterly at how the Gods always have a twisted way of tricking her to feeling happiness. 

They all went down and entered a cafe, and shot through a wholesome dialogue between cups of coffee that’s acted impeccably, so yet again they didn’t need too many retakes. Yet, both Jieun and Kyungsoo knew that things have changed. They’re acting now, not just, being, as they were in the amusement park. It only took a few moments for Kyungsoo to register where this cafe is, and the stories he’s heard about who Jieun frequented this cafe with in the past.

As he looks at her sigh while looking around the cafe with a sad smile, he also sighs, saying to himself that it’s better that he stays back and not cause her anymore pain.

***

Jieun reads the script in the set of the final episode. This will be the time where her character decides to avenge the death of her family and leaves Kyungsoo’s failing to beg her to stay. She will successfully kill the triad leader but at the cost of her own life. A whole ballad duet of her and Kyungsoo about fate and doomed love has already been recorded for the scene.

 _a fitting ending_ , she thinks. She remembers the endings of Scarlet Heart and Hotel Del Luna, and concludes that she will never deserve a happy ending in her life, not with the things she’s done. And the Gods are only reminding her with the unfortunate drama scripts she keeps getting.

The conversation happens in the hallway of their spaceship, she already remembers by heart her and his lines. 

“You can’t save them. This won’t save them. It’s too late.”

_this is different from the script_

“You don’t understand. I already died when they died, I’m only finishing the job. He has to die with me.”

Kyungsoo took a sudden step forward and tightly held her wrist.

_what are you doing kyungsoo? this isn’t in the script._

“I can feel your pulse, loud and clear. You’re very much alive, and you need to continue being alive. Killing him won’t kill the triad, they will continue hunting down innocent people, and I need you to stay to save them.”

Kyungsoo gently cups her face.

“I need you to save me,” he barely whispers. “Because God knows how I will survive losing you.”

As her tears start to well up and fall, his fingers brush them aside.His own tears are falling but he decides to just let it fall.

“It’s okay,” he whispers again. “It’s okay to want a happy ending, because that ending is not just for you. It’s for me, it’s for everyone who needs you. And above all, it’s also for them.”

At that, her tears broke and she cries, and cries, to his shoulder blades. 

Meanwhile the director is too struck to cut the scene, and deep down he knows the changes he needs to make to the script.

***

“Hey, the finale starts in 5 minutes, are you done yet?”

Jieun calls out from her bedroom after folding the last of her shirts from the laundry.

“I’m still in the middle of frying the pajeon but it’s fine we can see the TV from the kitchen anyway.”

As she walks out the bedroom, Kyungsoo holding a frying pan on her right and the TV playing the ad for the space opera finale on her left, she smiles and thinks that everything is okay. 

And it’s okay that everything is okay.

***


End file.
